Games with Names - The Matthew Slater Episode
Episode Date: June 12, 2025Matthew Slater is in studio! That's right, we have our first guest in the history of Dudes on Dudes! And who better than the 3x Super Bowl Champion, Patriot great, and Special Teams legend? Slate join...s us in the Boston studio to talk some dudes, ball, and ultimately find out just what kind of Dude he is using our patented system of questions. We also talk about Slater's Dude: special teams ace Kassim Osgood. It all culminates in The Chillest Dude of the Week presented by Coors Light where we find out what kind of Dude Matthew Slater is. Support the show: http://www.gameswithnames.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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I think most guys have more of an impact at receiver than I did.
Yeah.
Yard or 60, 70 yard or Tom would have never threw for over 500 yards.
Why do we all remember slates only catch? I appreciate the T stock.
I appreciate that was the year.
West.
38.
Why?
99 yards.
Right.
I had the little, you know, the little 10 yard out for the touchdown.
I jumped off sides on a two point conversion.
Yes.
That's right.
So we try to forget that.
Yeah, we did.
We brought it up and that was the last of it.
But we were all so pumped when you caught that.
I appreciate that.
Welcome to dudes on dudes. I'm Julian Edelman. I'm Rob Gronkowski. And this is a show where your
favorite dudes get to talk about their favorite dudes. Today we're joined by our pal, the Captain,
the man on a mission on and off the field, Matthew Slater. Fellas, appreciate you having me. What are
we talking about today?
Wow, what it's like to live with you, Julian.
The fact that you and I used to live together
is proof that we were slappers.
No furniture.
One of my favorite dudes of all time.
He beat double teams by just bullying people
and he played with an edge.
This guy's an animal.
And a whole lot of special teams talk.
You are the kicking game.
You're the punk game.
You're you're the gunner game.
And then we wrap it up by finding out what kind of dude Matthew
Slater is in this week's chillest dude of the week presented by Corus light.
Got to stick around to the end.
Dudes on dudes is a production of iHeartRadio.
Jewish worries, chicken little, sky is falling at all times, happily miserable with me.
And that's why we love you.
Loves God, knows everything will be right because of his faith.
And Rob's just a golden retriever.
He's just happy to happy.
Rob stays happy to be there.
Even if it's going terrible or if it's going great,
he's going to always be optimistic.
Even if it's going terrible, I'll be like, well, tomorrow can only get better.
You know, you gotta always have a down practice every once in a while to understand what's,
what's going on.
You gotta have a down episode every once in a while. To appreciate's going on. You got to have a down episode every once in a while. It really does. You can't have the greatest day all the time,
you know? You can't, but it makes every other day blossom. It makes every other day better.
Now we just warmed up and this is a very special episode. Special, special in many occasions. Literally and physically and literatively.
All three, the trifecta in a good way,
not in the way that we all think about.
Today we are joined by our good friend,
our old teammate, and the man that we love to call
the captain.
The captain.
Our leader.
10-time Pro Bowler.
Five time All Pro.
Member of the Patriots All Dynasty team.
Leader just not on the field, but off the field as well.
And three times Super Bowl champion.
And one of the greatest special teamers of all time.
According to Bill Belichick, the greatest,
the greatest special teamer of all time. According to Bill Belichick, the greatest, the greatest special teamer of all time.
And on top of according to Bill Belichick, he's greater than his dad as well. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh these days? I'm in full dad mode right now. Full dad mode. I'm enjoying my time at home.
In a transition season, I'm looking to go back to school actually hoping to get my MBA soon. So
been applying to schools. I feel like a teenager again. It's like doing these essays and looking into school, but I'm excited. I'm enjoying this transition and looking forward to the next chapter.
Yeah, that sounds exciting.
Well, can you explain to me real quick what it's like to be a dad? Cause Julian, you're a dad,
Matthew, how many kids do you have now? I have four.
So what's that like? Because my brothers all have kids too. It looks like the best feeling.
Can you explain to me? Cause then I might have to get into it right away.
There's no joy.
We're talking baby.
They're talking baby.
Yeah.
Whoa.
I mean, all the dads around here, they're all, they're all happy dads.
Well, Rob, there's no feeling like it.
I mean, the joy you get when you're with your children, uh, it's just undescribable.
And, you know, I have four kids, so it's chaos at all times, especially with three sons.
But, uh, you know, you talk about how parents are meant to instruct
and teach their kids.
I learn more from my kids every day
by just watching them and observing them and watching
them grow up than they could probably ever learn from me.
So it's been a blessing to be a dad.
Man, what do you learn?
What is one thing that you remember
you learn from your kids?
This is really good.
Man, you know what? Honesty and transparency.
Honesty and transparency.
If I ever try to just skirt the line of truth, my kids will call me out quick.
Yeah.
Well, you didn't say that yesterday or mommy said this.
So they hold your feet to the fire every day.
So you're teaching them accountability. you're in full daddy daycare.
So from the looks of it, it's going pretty good,
even though you were a little late to this
because your three-year-old lost your keys.
So we know how, we know how, what kind of dad this lady is.
It's survival, it's survival.
It's survival, especially with that three-year-old.
That's tough.
That's awesome.
Now, let's jump into football.
What's your first memory of New England?
Wow.
You know, I think I go back to 2008
when I got drafted by the team.
The first phone call I get from Coach Belichick.
And the way my college career had gone,
I played a little bit of offense, a little bit of defense,
but had mostly played in the kicking game. And I'll never forget, he calls me and he's like,
look, when you talk to the media, you know, let's not talk about what position you're going to play.
I'm bringing you here to help us in the kicking game and we'll figure out where you're going to
play. So I always reference that conversation with him because he said the expectation for me,
uh, it was very clear what my role was going to be, what, what was expected of me when I got here.
And, you know, it was a unique time to come to the team. They were undefeated in 2007.
So, you know, sit in that first team meeting, Bill was like, look, we just went undefeated last
year. We don't need any of you guys. So it was, it was homeland. It was, you know, you're just like, look, we just went undefeated last year. We don't need any of you guys. So it was it was homeland
It was a little bell, you know, you're just like, all right. I got to come in here
I got to work and put my head down and I got I'm gonna have to earn everything that comes my way
So what's it like to like exceed coach Balchecks expectations?
But also deliver exactly what he told you you were going to be.
Like literally, he said, we need you in the kicking game.
And you came through like no other.
You are the kicking game.
You are the kicking game.
You're the punk game.
You're, you're the gunner game.
You're everything with the special teams.
And he told you that from the beginning and you took it to a whole not another level.
What's it like to deliver for someone that drafted you and promise you that you're going
to, you know, be in that role and just exceed it?
You know, it meant a lot, Rob.
I mean, I think some people criticize the pick, uh, when they drafted me in the
fifth round, because it's like, you're drafting a special teams player this high.
And, you know, there were a lot of questions about whether or not my dad had
connections in New England.
And that's how I ended up here, which was not the case at all.
So I definitely wanted to show people that Coach made the right decision in placing his
faith in me.
It meant a lot to me to be able to play for him for 16 years and hopefully do a good job.
I assume I did a good job because he kept me around all that time.
But yeah, it certainly meant a lot.
I think, you know, we grew up in an era where you wanted to please your coach.
Like it meant everything as a football player to go out there and get that a boy or a good
job from your coach.
And, you know, I really appreciate Bill for giving me the opportunity that he did.
Here's a deep question that you just brought up because you said you stuck around for 16 seasons. You know, Julian in free agency, you almost left that one time myself,
I got traded and I told coach, no, no coach, I'm retiring. Like, and was there ever a time in your
career where you and coach were kind of butting heads, you were a free agent and you almost left,
but you knew your heart was here. Just like Julie and I knew our heart was here as well here
in New England with us special fellows. So was there a time where you almost left?
He traded me. I said, coach, I'm a new, I'm a Patriot, man.
I'm going down as a Patriot this year. You're not, you're not sending me to
Detroit. You almost went to the Giants.
I almost went to the Giants.
Thank God you didn't go to the Giants.
I remember that.
And I remember the Detroit.
And I think for me, I think we all have at least one moment
in time.
It happens to every single NFL player at one point
in their career.
No question.
Especially in the league.
It's just part of the business, right?
So I think for me, in 2017, I got hurt in training camp.
And I missed some time over the course of the year.
My contract was up at the end of the year.
And you know, the negotiations weren't going great.
What year is this?
This is going into 2018.
I know, but what year is it in your career?
So this is year 11.
Ooh, no respect.
And it's year 11.
Oh, you think you've done your best for the team.
So, you know, I told my agent at that point, once I saw how
negotiations were going, I said, hey, we're going to have to
look to get out of here.
And I went down to Pittsburgh, took a visit there.
We talked about games and really enjoyed Pittsburgh, really
enjoyed my time there.
And when I was in the airport on the way back, I got a call from Bill.
Happens the same way.
And he's like, what's going on?
I thought we were good.
I thought we were on the same page.
I was like, well, coach, we're not on the same page.
And thankfully we were able to work through it and, you know, ended up coming
back, obviously, and finishing my career there and that next year we won the
Superbowl.
So I'm glad I didn't leave,
but it's a reminder that this game is a business
and we've all experienced the business side of it.
And I didn't take it personally at all,
but I also understood that I had a responsibility
to my family and myself to do what was best for us.
Well, that was 2017 going into the year 2018.
That was the same exact year that I was traded going into the 2018 season.
And then I came back for one more year in New England and we won the Super Bowl.
Thank you Slater for saying thank you to myself for staying.
Thank you for staying, you know, the years before that as well.
If we didn't stick together, we would have never won that last Super Bowl.
Yeah. We talk about this business side, you know, that's, that's all the scary stuff.
The fun stuff that kept us all in the locker room was the team stuff.
Let's jump into that.
Who was the funniest guy in the locker room?
Oh my gosh.
I mean, there were, there were so many guys with great personalities over the years.
The two of you being right up near the top.
But I think the guy that we laughed the most probably at more than,
than with was Nico.
We had a lot of good laughs.
But he was like our, our little brother, like the team's official little brother.
We all love Rob, but I think about Rob. I think about Jerrod.
He was a lot of fun.
And then the McCordys were great.
Low key funny.
Dev was hilarious.
A-hole funny.
Dev is a-hole funny.
That's that New York in him.
Yeah, that's that New York in him.
No, Jay Sweetheart.
Always coming after the office of guys.
Right?
But it was, I mean, man, we had so many great guys
on that team over those years.
It was a lot of fun.
You know, one of my favorite was Ventrone, the suburban poet,
Rusty Benson, Rusty Benson. He was hilarious. Oh my God. I
always, I have to give Ornberger his, his flowers. Yeah.
Ornberger is yes. 100% the funniest guy.
And then we can't forget about light. The grant, the Godfather.
Oh my God. And this guy got into digital
Videos back before there was even digital video stuff making funny videos to give to the team
Remember when you carry carry thing? I mean it was unbelievable, you know light
I mean, we've all heard the stories about light as a prankster
He had Mike Wojcik our old string coach not talking to me for two or three months because I helped him with a prankster. He had Mike Wojcik, our old string coach, not talking to me for two or three
months because I helped him with a prank one time.
He stole Harold Nash's car.
And then I vouched that there was somebody in the parking lot that I saw taking it.
So he will loop me into that.
And then Rich, I mean, the fact that Rich was on IR and Bill brought him down to the Super Bowl
and in Indianapolis just to entertain the team.
Yeah.
And I think we all got a taste of that when he was on games.
He's the best storyteller I've ever been around.
He's just, he's just so funny.
You can't be around Rich without laughing.
That is one thing about coach Belichick as well is that even if player was on IR,
but he was a great locker room guy, or he was like a bubble guy, coach Belichick as well is that even if player was on IR, but he was a great locker room guy or he was like a bubble guy, coach Belichick
always knew to keep that one or two guys around that's right room that gelled the
whole entire team and Rich Unberger being one of those guys making it the
anyone laugh at any time no matter what he's doing if he's just showering if
he's getting ready for practice if he's in the training room getting right up
just the way he talks is just hilarious.
But Coach Belichick, you got to give him credit in that category for just having that guy in the locker room.
He's had a guy. Keepers that team gelled together.
Oh, for sure. Another one, Nico Koudavides.
Oh, Nico. Classic.
Oh, man, we had some characters, man.
We really did. Which, you know, goes into another question.
Who were the slappies of the locker room? We had a lot of
slappies. I mean, a lot of slappies. And I put a lot. You
were, I'll put in our category. We were slappies. No doubt. Me
and Slay, you were never a slapper. You were never a
slapper. You were never a slapper. You came in the man.
No, you came. We had 10 touchdowns a rookie year. I was a
slappy. My first half of my rookie year. No, I was a slappy in training camp.
Yeah.
All right, two days.
I want to be a slappy, OK?
I know you want to be a slappy.
But the fact that you and I used to live together
is proof that we were slappy.
No furniture.
This is before J11.
This was just Jules.
This was not Hall of Fame.
It wasn't Hall of Fame.
Put some respect on his name.
He lived at that's when we really hate.
That's when we really love this guy.
When he wasn't Jay, right?
E11, they start changing their hair.
Doesn't have a podcast.
All this beer like, you know, he changed it up.
You know, the J.E.
Eleven came about making fun of Tom.
Did it really?
Is that what I started by making a J.E.
like, remember, Tom used to wear his TV.
TV.
I one day just made a J.E.
Eleven just to make fun of him
and then started selling it.
And then here we are.
And here we are.
And now we're at the.
I mean, Tom is the head of the game.
He was one of the first ones to kind of like,
you know, make a brand
with his own brand as well.
And who doesn't have that now? Any top player in the NFL has a brand.
So if you really look at it, Tom kind of created that, you know,
with the TV 12 symbol. So he was a genius. He's, he's always ahead of the game.
And you're all years ahead. Hey, great job making fun of them.
They caught on. Yeah. Turn it into a business.
Oh, all right. Uh, who, who was the guyate, that, you know, took you under your wing?
I mean, other coaching staff, of course, Scotty O'Brien taught you a lot, but who was that
player that took you under the wing and taught you what to do out there on the field in the
special teams?
Well, yeah, I mean, look, I was really fortunate to come to the team at a very special time
where that kind of that old guard was still around.
And those guys were so much experience championship experience.
So just being able to follow around Larry is though my rookie year was huge.
Huge.
I mean, Larry was like the Godfather of special teams in New England.
Had had so much success, had a tremendous career.
So I watched him, I followed him around like a puppy dog.
All right, Larry's in the cold tub.
I'm in the cold tub.
Larry's watching film.
I gotta go watch film.
And he was a great mentor.
Another guy, not a special teamer, but Benjamin Watson.
Be what?
Was someone who really showed me how to be a man.
Showed me how to be a pro.
He's just one of the best men I've ever known.
And then a blast from the past, Sam Aiken.
Sam Aiken. Sam Aiken.
Shout out Sammy Aiken. He had the sickest car too. That thing hugged my back. He'd take me to Providence.
He was a, you know, he was a special teams captain after Larry and Sam was great about just making me
feel like, you know, Hey, you belong here. Like you're one of us, you know, show me how to be a pro.
So tremendous mentors early on in my career.
Sam was the same way for me as well.
He was just a good dude and he was a ball.
Like he was a strong receiver. He was he was like 220.
He was one of the bigger guys. He was big, big.
Yeah. All right.
Before we jump in to.
The dude that you picked, we got to have one.
What's the one Gronk story that sticks out?
One Gronk story that no, like just a Gronk.
Hey, you can even go back to your college days.
Ooh, at the A9?
Oh yeah.
We battled.
Oh, I remember our defense coordinator.
I like this story.
Dwayne Walker.
That's why I'm leading him this way.
Dwayne Walker.
We're getting ready to play these guys.
What'd you wear, 49 in college? 48. We're getting ready to play these guys. What'd you wear?
49 in college?
48.
That was my high school number.
Everyone knew who 48 was.
This guy, Dwayne Walker, butchered my man's name.
They got this Grottykowski out there.
We got to account for this guy.
I like that.
And Gronk was obviously dominant in college.
18 years old I was facing him. He was a man child
But I mean look I I think
One of the stories and I don't know if I've ever told you this Rob
So the weekend that Rob got drafted I was down in New York with Kevin O'Connell
KOC and and Ryan Wendell and Kevin was with us my rookie year, ended up at the Jets, so we were visiting him.
And we're walking the streets of New York and we see Gronk. Now obviously, you know, we don't know
what's going to happen. I was already drafted. No, you weren't drafted yet. So he already knew who I
was. You weren't drafted yet. Yeah. And we're like, oh yeah, that's that tight end from Arizona. I
think he's supposed to be pretty good. Yeah.
You know, fast forward, we draft him and he turned out to be pretty down.
Hey, what was I doing on the streets? What was I doing at that time?
Probably just doing some grunk stuff. Just having a good time, enjoying life.
But yeah, man, that was, that was a pretty full circle moment.
All right. That's really cool. And before we get started as well, I got to obviously ask you a question about Jules then.
What was he like as a roommate?
And how many years were you guys roommates as well?
I think it's been documented a million times.
I mean, I know it's probably around like seven.
Oh, four years?
Oh, that's all.
And I'll say this about, because we've
laughed a lot about us being roommates and a joke.
I didn't take out the trash.
But honestly, like I think it's a great example of, of two guys being able to find common ground, like Jules and I are different people, different interests, but our
relationship has always been built on respect and you know, respecting the other
guy and really, you know, our friendship goes back to that.
So I know for me, if we don't spend those four years together, my career probably doesn't
go the way that it went.
And I tried to, you know, be a positive influence on him as well.
So holy water on me.
Yeah.
And before we get started, another question just popped to my mind.
Do you like this humble Jules more now that he's retired,
giving credit to everyone else?
Or do you like that Jules that always had a chip
on his shoulder every time he stepped in that locker room,
just attacking whoever he can attack,
going after whoever he needs to go after.
Yeah, kind of the team asshole.
Who do you like more?
Because I love this Jules.
But also I do miss him.
I do miss him. I'm like, come on, Jules, everyone.
I try to get out of it. He's like, no, like I'm talking to you.
I appreciate it.
But honestly, he brought an edge to our football team that we needed.
I mean, it made people uncomfortable.
It made people better.
I still think about conditioning with him.
And now if I wasn't ready to go, he was going to embarrass me.
He pushed everybody around him to be better. I remember him yelling at guys.
We almost got in fights on the sidelines, but it made me better.
It made our team better. So I kind of missed that guy. I'm not going to lie.
I kind of miss that guy. I'm not going to lie. I'm not. I kind of miss that guy. Great answer around this time of the year.
I can.
I an asshole in this that pops into my head is usually, you know, the veterans are coming
off the field from their conditioning or something.
You go in, you see the new draft picks and I would always yell in there, are you guys,
you guys bringing these guys in to take my fucking job?
I go in the cafeteria. is this guy taking my job?
But that was the same thing that I heard from Bruce Key.
That's right.
And Kevin Fall.
Right.
You know, it was a standard where like you better bring your A-game
because it made them work harder and you wanted to get the best out of them
because it was going to get the best out of you.
That's right.
So absolutely.
We'll be right back after this quick break.
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Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight-loss camps for kids, promised extraordinary results.
Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies were often unrecognizable when they left.
In a society obsessed with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution.
with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution. But behind Camp Shane's facade of happy, transformed children
was a dark underworld of sinister secrets.
Kids were being pushed to their physical and emotional limits
as the family that owned Shane turned a blind eye.
Nothing about that camp was right.
It was really actually like a horror movie.
In this eight-episode series, we're unpacking
and investigating stories of mistreatment
and reexamining the culture of fatphobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for so
long.
You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad free on iHeart
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So don't wait, to Apple podcasts and subscribe today
Over the past six years of making my true crime podcast hell and gone. I've learned one thing
No town is too small for murder. I'm Catherine Townsend I've received hundreds of messages from people across the country begging for help with unsolved murders
I was calling about the murder of my husband. It's a cold case
They've never found her and it haunts me to this day.
The murderer is still out there.
Every week on Hell and Gone Murder Line, I dig into a new case, bringing the skills I've learned as a journalist and private investigator to ask the questions no one else is asking.
Police really didn't care to even try.
She was still somebody's mother. She was still somebody's daughter. She was still somebody's sister. There's so many questions that we've never gotten any kind of answers
for.
If you have a case you'd like me to look into, call the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145.
Listen to Hell and Gone Murder Line on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Welcome to the You vs. You podcast.
I'm Lex Perero, and every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment
to talk about the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that made
them who they are.
We go deep, flowing childhood trauma, family, overcoming loss, and the moments that shaped
their journey.
These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes,
with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you
and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams.
Here's a sneak peek.
I'm trained to go compete. I'm trained to go harder.
But sometimes that mentality stops you from stopping
and smelling the flowers in your own garden.
Is it wrong to want more?
We migrated, our family migrated here.
I'm like second generation.
Who's not going to have a trauma
coming from a foreign country
and coming to the United States
and not speaking English?
Listen to You Versus You
as part of Michael Tudor podcast network,
available on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
All right, let's get into Pick Slate.
All right.
Of what dude he picked for this week's episode.
Let's set the clock to 10 minutes.
Rob, get the AI synopsis ready.
Here we go.
This is what we do, Slate.
Every guy that we're talking about,
I do a little AI synopsis on him. I
read off what AI says about the guy just to get a summary. So we understand who we're
talking about. So let's get onto it. Yeah. All right. Here we go. Standing at six foot,
five inches tall and weighing 220 pounds. This former NFL wide receiver and special
teams ace carved out a 12 year professional career after entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2003. Despite going undrafted he earned three Pro Bowl
selections and was named first team all-pro in 2007 solidifying his
reputation as one of the best special team teamers of his era. Let's get on, Kassim Osgood.
There it is.
Ooh, look at that mohawk.
There it is.
Oh, he's-
Mr. Osgood, look at that.
Is he one of the first ones to, you know,
start that trend of one of those wild haircuts,
dying the mohawk,
shaving the sides as an NFL player?
I think that photo sums it up.
Now, you know, for me,
when I came into the league, and I think for all of us, it was very important that you learned from other players, guys that had come before you that had had success in the league.
Captain answer already.
And I, you know, Scott O'Brien came to the team my second year, and my rookie year wasn't great and Scott really challenged me to
find ways to make myself better.
And there were two guys that he used to call the name of all the time, Brendan
and I, Mendegio and then Kasim Osgood.
And he would say, he would look at me and say, you ain't no Osgood.
And I was like, yeah, I know I'm not Osgood.
He's been, he's been at three Pro Bowls.
This guy's an animal, but we would sit there in the off season and we would study Kasim.
And I'm a big believer in taking from other guys' games.
Like, hey, if this guy does this well, has a lot of success,
let me try to incorporate it.
The problem was Kasim is 6'5, 220.
Big boy.
I'm 6'205.
Fast though. So I'm thinking, I'm looking at Scott. I'm six feet, two Oh five fast though.
So I'm thinking, I'm looking at Scott.
I'm saying, Scott, I can't play like this guy.
This guy's an animal out there.
But what I learned from Kasim and you know, when people think about gunner play,
there are a lot of ways to play gunner.
A lot of the guys that you see now are finessed players.
They win with speed.
They use their hands. They use quickness and counter moves. Cause Sim just beat people up. I mean, he was the one who initiated contact.
He beat double teams by just bullying people and he played with an edge. I mean, this guy
played with an edge. Like you see that hair right there. You see that. That's a guy who's
got an edge. You got edge. So the one thing see that? That's a guy who's got an edge.
You got edge.
So the one thing I took from his game was, when you come out here, you should be the
hammer, not the nail, and you got to play with an edge.
There's got to be something, there's got to be some kind of dog in you that pushes you
to go out here and find a way to beat double teams consistently.
So I mean, look, I never was able to be as physical as a guy like that,
but I tried to incorporate more physicality into my game after watching him.
And, uh, you know, he's one of the old G's.
So salute Kasim.
Kasim.
Kasim.
I think I said Kasim, right?
Kasim.
I'm sorry.
Kasim.
We'll have to go to him for Kasim.
Kasim.
We need official.
I like both of them.
I just remember his Oz good.
He was Oz good.
Oz good.
Well, I can tell you this.
You can go back to Scotty O'Brien,
and you can tell him that, yeah, you're not as good
as Oz good because you're Oz great, Slay.
Oh!
Yeah, so Scotty, you're in your face.
I like that.
I like that.
Frog with the three.
Now, have you ever met him?
You know, we've met in passing.
In passing? You know, as when he was with Jacksonville and the
Lions and the 49ers, I introduced myself, you know, as he was winding his career
down and I was kind of getting mine going, but we've never had a chance to really
sit down and have a conversation.
But man, if I could, I would say thank you.
Cause he, like, he was one of the guys that paved the way.
I think, you know, you think about Tasker, obviously the Godfather, but there were guys
that came after him that continued to shine a light on the importance of the third phase of the
game. And cause Sim was one of those guys that did that. And, you know, I think the value he brought
to his team, uh, show teams like the Patriots, Hey, it helps to have a guy like this.
And then on top of the value as well, he was such a great special teamer and slate. You were such he brought to his team, uh, show teams like the Patriots. Hey, it helps to have a guy like this.
And then on top of the value as well, he was such a great special team and slate. You were such a
great special team, but you helped contribute to our team and so many other ways in the locker room,
off the field as well. But I'm the scout team. You would be a defender going against us, guarding me,
guarding Julian. And then you would also be a wide receiver in the scout team. You'd be taking first team reps sometime.
So you were just an overall, just teammate,
team player at all times.
Was Kasim, was he also an impact in the receiving game,
you know, out on the football field?
I don't know too much about him.
I mean, this is great that you're talking about him
because I'm learning about him.
What else did he do besides special teams?
Yeah, you know what? He did have some, some impact as a receiver. I think most guys have more of an impact at receiver than I did. Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, Miami, I contributed 46 yards. Why do we all remember Slate's only catch to the tee?
Stock.
That was the year Westwell had the 99 yard.
I had the little 10 yard out for the touchdown.
I jumped off sides on a two point conversion.
That's right, too.
We tried to forget that one.
Yeah, we did.
We brought everyone headed, and that was the last of it.
But we were all so pumped when you caught that pass, too.
I appreciate that, fellas.
But no, he did have some, a little bit of success as a receiver.
And I think like most of us, there was always the desire to contribute as much as you can.
Like, look, the reality is when I came in the league, yeah, I wanted to make the team
and I wanted to do it however I could, but you always want to improve. You always want to contribute more. And I know he felt the
same, you know, as I recall, towards the end of his tenure in San Diego, there was more
of a desire for him to play receiver and that may have led to his departure when he headed
to Jacksonville. I don't want to misspeak, but I think that factored into it. So he did
some things as a receiver Cal Poly
Yeah, Cal Poly and then went to San Diego State
So, you know, I know he I don't want to speak for him, but I know he wanted to play probably more receiver
We all didn't want to play more receiver
But you got to do with what you're good at and he was pretty doggone good at covering kicks. We want to resize
Resign you here, but you're not going to play receiver, just special teams.
Me not wanting to put in me not wanting to be put in a corner as Patrick Swayze said
in dirty dancing, nobody puts baby in a corner.
Well, there it is.
Osgood said that when leaving.
So I didn't miss be that factored in him.
He wanted to play some wide receiver.
For Jacksonville. Yeah.
It made sense. Everyone's always trying to amp up the game.
Absolutely.
You know, get some glory. I mean, that's, that's who you are as a competitor, you know?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Doesn't always work out. Did it work out in this case when he went to Jacksonville?
Right. Did he make an impact?
Not quite the way he thought it would.
All right. That's okay.
Did you see him at a Pro Bowl?
I didn't. I didn't. You know, cause there's only one Pro Bowl spot we were
competing for towards the end there of his career.
So, uh, we never crossed paths at a Pro Bowl.
Did you go to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii?
I did.
Ooh.
Can you give us a little, explain it?
What was it like?
You know, when that's what we all remember.
I actually never been to a Pro Bowl.
I've been, you know, have you never played one Pro Bowls, but I never
played in one, I never played in one. So explain I've been, you know, inducted into Pro Bowls, but I never went to one.
I never played in one.
So explain to us what it's like, Slate.
I mean, I'll say this.
The Hawaii Pro Bowl was really special for me because I got to go as a kid with my dad.
Oh yeah.
And I remember getting the experience there and I never dreamed that I have an opportunity
to do it as a pro, but Hawaii, the people of Hawaii are so nice.
They're so kind.
It's paradise.
The food is fantastic.
We were still playing real football at the time.
So there was contact.
There was tackling, pads, helmets.
Now they're running around.
Was there kickoffs too?
Like live kickoffs?
They were doing that?
At the Pro Bowl, there were live kickoffs.
Live, running down next to breaking wedges yeah it
was kind of wild when you think about it it's kind of wild holy holy man covering full kickoff yeah
but it was a lot of fun I'll tell you that it was a lot of fun man the Pro Bowl and we gotta get the
Pro Bowl back to Hawaii I agree look at Slate there it is Full head of hair. Slate Mayo. Full head of hair. The wifey approved of that picture with the
That was before we were married.
I feel.
Now we're talking.
So you were a dog back in the day.
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
That's just a photo op.
That's a photo op right there.
Oh.
All right.
All right.
Now, who's the best special teamer in the league right now?
I mean, look, I have extreme bias, but to me, it's Brendan Schoolers.
Schooler. So I'm out of.
That's not being biased. He went to the Pro Bowl.
He was all pro.
Voted by everyone in the league.
Right. And it speaks for itself.
And to me, there's really no weakness in this game.
When you look at them, you know, we talk about we always talk about
covering kicks and making plays, impacting coverage, but in the return game
is very rare that the guy he's blocking will even be close to the football. Wow.
I mean, he's a dominant player in the return game. So what about punt? I love punt.
What punt return? Is he a good blocker? He's a great blocker in punt return. Was he on the
vice? And that's the thing, position flexibility. He can play in the vice, but he also plays in the box
He can also rush punts. I mean he can do a lot. He's a freaky athlete. He really is so I mean, I love him
There are a lot of guys in the lead. Oh the vices mean the vice the vice
We might contact. Yeah, we need contacts on the vice the vice go ahead slate the vice
So when you go out there, they're the two guys on the perimeter of the punt team are
the gunners.
When you go across from them on the punt return team, the two guys that go out to double team
the gunner, that's the vice.
So it'll be a corner and a safety body type usually that double that gunner.
The good ones anyway.
If you're getting singled, you're probably
not doing a great job. Or they're kicking away. Right. So the vice players, you know, you see a
lot of, we put our best athletes out there. We put the McCordys out there for years. We put a
Keap to leave out there. Chung. Chung was out there. I mean, we put a lot of good players out
there. Made life difficult for opposing gunners. What was it like, you know, you were all pro special teamer and then school or all pro
special teamer, but you were the one coaching them last year, you know, in New England.
What was the one piece of advice that you were giving school or in that you would give
to other special teamers as well? Being an all pro and then coaching, you know, the special
team team. Yeah, man, I feel Rob, I really feel fortunate to have played with Brendan
and then had the opportunity to coach him. Our relationship is a special one
because, you know, I'm much older than him. But for whatever reason, we clicked.
And, you know, our friendship is one that I really, really value.
But I think to me, I saw early on like, Hey, this kid's got it.
And to really take it to the next level, he's got to have an understanding that
it's got to be day after day after day.
You guys know this, nobody shows up in the game and just makes plays.
Like what did coach always say?
Practice execution becomes game reality.
Like what did coach always say? Practice execution becomes game reality.
So once he had that register for him
and it registered early on,
you really saw him elevate and elevate
and keep getting better.
And we used to say to our guys,
like, hey, look, it's not by accident
that Brendan is having the success that he's having.
Look at how he practices.
He's practicing harder than everybody on our football team.
He's running full speed.
Guys are complaining cause he's going too hard.
Like that's how you need to work to have success.
And he understands that.
Whoa, we got to get back to Osgood first off.
He's an actor.
He's an actor.
Yes.
Jericho, we were soldiers, road rules.
I've read this about him.
He's a, he's, should we say aspiring actor?
I don't know that I've seen any of those.
We were soldiers is a big one.
Yeah.
Jay Glazer introduced the two.
Okay.
With what?
Michael Clarke?
Oh, Michael Clarke Duncan.
Duncan?
Green mile.
Wow.
RIP.
So you act?
I don't act.
I'm not as talented as brother Osgood. I don't have that. Have you ever act? I've never acted. Not even in like a Patriot schedule release video. Oh, I knew you were an actor. I knew you were buddy. You're an actor. You find a way to get you in.
What was it like just shine? It was a we did a retirement house theme one year
So Ernie was there I dropped d-mag off yeah at the house ivan was there
They do a good job of those. Those are fun. Those are fun. They had with the prez on this year
Did they have the prez on? Oh, he did great. He did hilarious broke down every week time
Kasim osgood. Now we got to.
So you're out.
What kind of do you figure out what kind of do?
What kind of dude is Osgood?
Is he a stud?
A guy that was born with athleticism, football IQ through the roof,
well rounded, always the guy.
Or is he a freak, unparalleled physical ability of one of one?
Or is he a dog unparalleled physical ability of one of one or is he a dog relentless motivated physically and mentally tough is he a whiz he's got
intellect in a innovative he's clutch he's he's a whiz he's very wizardy or
is he a dude's dude positive attitude to bring the locker room together a guy
that's calm cool and collected or just a guy that is in there to bring the locker room together a guy that's calm cool and collected or just a guy that is
In there to make the locker room better. Mm-hmm. Well, what do you think he is? What kind of dude is he?
I'm going right off top dog. He's dog
When I tell you this guy's the bully guys he was a bully out there, man. It was, it was like he enjoyed imposing
his will on smaller corners and safeties, uh, straight dog.
So just to describe as good as a whole, you're saying he wasn't really one of the gifted
athletic guys out there. He made it because he was just an absolute savage on the football
field and he wanted it more willing to take on anyone anytime.
He's six five to 20.
So he was gifted as well in that category.
Yeah, he did.
Okay.
But, but he's probably a hybrid stud dog.
Yeah.
I haven't seen very many six foot five.
You're not allowed to have two categories, Slay.
It's just one.
I'm staying with dog.
I'm staying with dog.
I agree.
You know, usually special teamers,
teamers are dogs or of some sort,
especially a guy like his story, undrafted guy,
to go and become a 12 year pro
with nothing but really special teams on his resume.
I know we talk about receiver
and that's why he signed to San Diego,
but he's known as a teamer.
That's a dog.
That's right.
That's a dog. We'll right. That's a dog.
We'll be right back after this quick break. Made for This Mountain is a podcast that exists to
empower listeners to rise above their struggles, break free from the chains of trauma, and silence
the negative voices that have kept them small. Through raw conversations, real stories, and
actionable guidance, you can learn to face the mountain that is in front of you.
You will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you refuse to identify,
the thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain, this is the struggle,
this is the thing that's in front of me. You can't make that mountain move without actually
diving into it. May is Mental Health Awareness Month,
a time to conquer the things that once felt impossible and step boldly into the best version
of yourself to awaken the
unstoppable strength that's inside of us all. So tune into the podcast, focus on your emotional
well-being and climb your personal mountain. Because it's impossible for you to be the most
authentic you. It's impossible for you to love you fully if all you're doing is living to please
people. Your mountain is that. Listen to Made for This Mountain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight-loss camps for kids,
promised extraordinary results.
Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies
were often unrecognizable when they left.
In a society obsessed with being thin,
it seemed like a miracle solution.
But behind Camp Shane's facade of happy, transformed children was a dark underworld of
sinister secrets. Kids were being pushed to their physical and emotional limits as the family that
owned Shane turned a blind eye. Nothing about that camp was right. It was really actually like a horror
movie. In this eight episode series, we're unpacking and investigating stories of mistreatment
and re-examining the culture of fat phobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for
so long.
You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad free on iHeart
True Crime Plus.
So don't wait.
Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today.
Over the past six years of making my true crime podcast hell and gone,
I've learned one thing. No town is too small for murder. I'm Katherine Townsend. I've received
hundreds of messages from people across the country begging for help with unsolved murders.
I was calling about the murder of my husband at the cold case.
I have never found her and it haunts me to this day.
The murderer is still out there.
Every week on Hell and Gone Murder Line, I dig into a new case,
bringing the skills I've learned as a journalist and private investigator
to ask the questions no one else is asking.
Police really didn't care to even try.
She was still somebody's mother. She was still to even try. She was still somebody's mother.
She was still somebody's daughter.
She was still somebody's sister.
There are so many questions that we've never gotten any kind of answers for.
If you have a case you'd like me to look into, call the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145.
Listen to Hell and Gone Murder Line on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Welcome to the You vs. You podcast.
I'm Lex Perero, and every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment
to talk about the real stuff.
The struggles, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that made them who they are.
We go deep, throwing childhood trauma, family, overcoming loss, and the moments that shape their journey.
These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes,
with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you
and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams.
Here's a sneak peek.
I'm trained to go compete. I'm trained to go harder.
But sometimes that mentality stops you from stopping and
smelling the flowers in your own garden. Is it wrong to want more? We migrated, our family
migrated here. I'm like second generation.
Who's not going to have a trauma coming from a foreign country and you arrive in the United
States and you don't speak English?
Listen to You vs. You as part of Michael Tudor podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio
app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Let's get into this week's chillest dude of the week brought to you by our favorite beer Coors Light and Coors Light delivered straight to your door.
Visit CoorsLight.com slash dude.
And remember celebrate responsibly.
Slate doesn't drink beer.
Yeah, but he'll at least hold a beer for us. He doesn't. No good. I'll double fist. Give me two. One for you, Slate doesn't drink beer. Yeah. But he'll at least hold a beer for us. He doesn't know.
Good. I'll double fist. Give me two. One for you. Slate. One
for me. What is Scotty? Oh, you call these Colorado Kool-Aid?
Colorado Kool-Aid.
The chorus lights.
He's probably drinking one on his fishing boat right now.
Probably some sea bass.
He probably is. Cheers brother. Slate, one for you, one for me.
Dude of the week.
Our boy, the captain, Matthew Slater.
Matthew Slater.
Appreciate you guys.
And what we're gonna do is,
we're gonna sit and ask Slate some questions,
and we're gonna determine what kind of dude Slate is.
Off of the questions that we're gonna ask. Off the questions. Slate is. Off of the questions that we're going to ask you.
This is our very first time having a guest on the show.
So we appreciate you coming here.
Slade is the best.
Being patient with us, just going along with us.
Your two favorite teammates that you've ever had in the locker room
and being another great teammate once again, but this time in the nut house
locker room here at the dude's house.
So we appreciate you, man.
We want to figure out what kind of dude you are with the questions
that we're going to ask you.
Let's see. All right. All right.
Let's do this. Let's do this.
First off, you got your notepad.
Oh, yes, I do. I'm taking notes.
There we go. Yeah.
I'm going to probably, you know, spit some facts out there
that we should probably listen to in life as well, because this is Slater.
Let's just start it off later.
Let's start off with a hard one.
What kind of dude do you think you are?
Ooh, that is tough.
Cause you want to, you want to be humble.
Yeah.
Or you don't.
What kind of dude do you want to be?
Yeah.
Dude.
Yeah.
I like to think the team do, what was the description on the dude?
A dude's dude.
I'd be a dude's dude.
Dude's dude.
Bring the vibe up for everybody.
Put that down, dude. I see dude, dude. Bring the vibe up for everybody. Put that down, dude.
I see that.
Positive influence on the guy.
I saw that big time.
Positive influence.
I never really seen you as a negative influence.
I appreciate that, Rob.
Well, I mean, Jules did a lot of negative things when you were his roommate.
So what were you doing inside that house?
What was going on?
Was he a negative influence behind the scenes?
He made it out unscathed.
So we were good.
Positive influence. If he was not your roommate, we made it out. He was positive influence.
If he was not your roommate, we don't know.
You would be on the Giants.
I'd be on the Giants.
You got him to the Hall of Fame.
I'm going to take all the credit.
Alright, so dudes dude.
That's what he thinks.
Well, Slate, did you wear flip-flops in the shower?
You have to wear flip-flops in the shower? You have to wear flip-flops in the shower.
You have to.
You have to.
You have to.
You have to.
Well, why's that?
Why do you have to?
Because I seen some of them feet in there.
I can't go in there without them.
Can't do it.
I got some bad feet.
Ran a lot of routes.
I see my own feet.
Yeah, we got to have them.
All right, all right, all right.
So half two dudes.
All right.
Who's the most famous person in your phone?
Most famous person in my phone. Yeah. Most famous. I mean, I would say one of you guys,
but TB, probably TB, TB, pretty famous. TB, pretty famous. TB. I would say he's up there.
He's up there. I mean, that's really more famous than TB anyways. He's the most famous.
I mean, this guy, this guy. like the most famous person in his phone.
We wish we had his number.
No, you guys probably get all five of his cell phones.
No, it's like bringing the heat in.
All five.
All five.
This guy gets his new cell phones like socks.
Come on, give me some knuckles on that one.
That was good.
That was good.
So TB, okay.
All right.
What was your college GPA?
3.1?
Ooh, 3. Ooh, three. Ooh, low.
Low. Low.
I thought it was going to be way higher.
Slacking a little bit.
Oh, that's why you're not making it into the Ivy League.
Makes sense now.
I was just, I'm disappointed with that one.
Three one.
Your GPA in the special teams world,
I would say at least a 3.8.
I appreciate that.
Extracurriculars.
Too many video games going on.
A lot of extracurriculars.
Too many video games. What video game did you play? Oh, we're playing NCAA football.8. I appreciate that. Extra curriculars. A lot of extra curriculars. Too many video games.
What video game did you play?
Oh, we're playing NCAA football.
Just making sure.
So you were a crazy maniac in college.
Yeah, we had an issue with the video game.
OK.
We used to play as a team.
We played each other, had a pot circulating.
Some of those guys may be watching.
They know who the best was.
And it was me.
Slate, you're the best one.
That's why I had the 3.1.
Can I play 3.1?
Slate.
At least you're the best one.
Who'd you play with?
What was your team on NCAA?
I would go Ohio State.
What year was this?
Ted Ginn.
Ted Ginn.
Oh, another special teamer.
We'd go four wide, spread it out, and then you had Troy Smith run quarterback.
See, I can still remember my roster.
We were good.
We had that thing rolling.
What, he's hitting four verticals,
looking off safety?
Oh, get it up, get it up.
Use your come in, look out.
Run with Troy Smith.
Get the edge.
I get it.
Come on.
All right, so NCT U-A played that.
Okay, what was the song on your college highlight film? Ooh. Hmm. I cannot that. Okay. What was the song on your college highlight film?
Ooh, I cannot recall.
We can't recall.
I can't recall.
All right.
Play too much football.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I've been hitting the head.
I've been hitting the head.
No recall.
Let me put that on.
That's not good.
That's not good.
No.
That's could hurt you.
How many college offers did you get out of high school?
Oh, I'm going to say like 15. Oh, what were you a star star star?
I was a three star. Oh, OK.
Not I was not Rob coming out.
And funny enough, I was just a four star.
I had 15.
That's I committed to go to Dartmouth out of high school.
I was going to go the Ivy League route
when I was taking my studies seriously in high school.
And you know, I chose to stay at home
and go to UCLA and play at home.
Played D1 obviously, so.
I mean UCLA still.
That was a great choice.
UCLA. It worked out.
It worked out all right.
Top five public university.
Number one.
Top five.
Number one.
Top five.
All those cowbears out there.
Berkeley, I mean Berkeley.
Oh, it's us, no.
What about Arizona Wildcats? Look at the latest rankings. Same division, same conference. Number one. Top five. All those cowbears out there. Berkeley, I mean Berkeley. Oh, it's us, no. Arizona Wildcats.
Look at the latest rankings.
Same division, same conference.
Number one.
Now you're number two.
All right, Slate, let's get back into this.
Determine what kind of guy you are.
What was your first car?
My first actual car was a Lexus GX 460.
Fancy.
And I got that my third year in the league. Third year, you mean? No, before and I got that my third year and Lee
My dad's car first ever car what was your first ever it was a my dad's Lexus
He knows you like family Alexis Lexus family Toyota makes a good product. They make a good product. Okay. Well, what do you drive now?
Right now I'm gonna
I'm in an Audi Audi
Electric e-tron.
Ooh, e-tron.
Wow.
One of the people for the Earth.
Yeah.
I like that.
You see?
Taking notes.
Taking notes.
This is really going to determine.
I can't go electric?
No, no, no.
This is really going to determine what kind of duty is.
This is good.
This is good note taking.
I got to put in parentheses electric.
Electric, put that in parentheses.
Slate, what was your first endorsement deal?
My first endorsement deal, Reebok.
Reebok!
Ooh!
Team Reebok!
You told Nike to kick rocks!
Before Reebok cut me loose.
Reebok cut me loose.
They cut you loose?
They cut me loose after my third year.
Well, I think they cut everyone loose.
They went on to 10 Pro Bowls in Nike.
Yeah, take that, Reebok.
Thanks, Reebok. Oh, oh, we were, I think they were. one on the 10 Pro Bowl's and Nike. Yeah, take that. Thanks Reebok.
Oh, oh, we never might.
You told Reebok to kick kick me the curve.
But I think Reebok kicked everyone to the curb.
They left then.
Yeah, JJ. JJ was still wearing Reebok.
JJ what? He was still wearing Reebok.
He had his own line of shoe, which probably would have chosen JJ over me.
Oh, JJ Reebok.
Let me see. Reebok.
Let me see that Reebok.
All right.
Kind of like a throwback type of guy.
The old pumps.
You know, pump.
I remember the pumps.
I was being reboxed with pumps.
That's why you were so fast.
I was in a rebox.
Pump those things up.
Pump those things up.
Good old Jim Well and you walk in the training room.
Coach, I'm hurting.
Just pump your shoes.
Just pump them up.
Get out of here.
Pump those shoes.
Jimbo, I need to stay out of there with Jimbo early.
All right.
What's the square root of 144?
Oh, I know.
But I can't give him the answer.
144.
Can I phone a friend on this?
That's easy, Slate.
Come on, man.
You're committed to Dartmouth.
It's all right.
We got it. It's alright we got it.
72. You're just you're just messing with us. 12 times 12 144. I don't know that. I thought we'd
see. I'm not a math guy. Didn't know. Edit that out. Wait you really don't know that? It's 12.
Oh okay I was gonna say. Didn't know. It's DB12. Didn't know. Fast, not fast enough.
Describe your locker, was it messy?
It was messy.
Clean, oh, messy.
It was messy.
It was messy.
Okay.
Yeah, it was bad.
Bad.
We was there for so long, it's hard.
Yeah, I mean, I got all this stuff in there.
I got 16 years worth of stuff.
Stuff.
So many accolades.
People sent it in, Bibles and stuff to Slate.
I mean.
Trophies, game balls. There's a lot game balls, jerseys, uniform box to Nike.
Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of gloves, a lot of 16 years in one spot.
A lot of stuff, a lot of stuff.
All right.
I got one.
If you weren't a pro athlete, who would you work for
or what would you do?
Well, you know, I've always had a passion for ministry.
So I think, you know, my plan before I got drafted
was to become a youth pastor.
So that would have been the road I would have taken.
Pastor.
Put that down.
All right.
That's P-S-A-T-O-R.
As a pastor now, and a fight breaks out at practice, what do you do?
Oh, we got to I'm going to do the same thing I did when Rob fought Michael
Bennett at the end of the Seattle game.
Explain that. Stop, fellas.
Oh, you know, like I don't you know, I don't want I don't want guys fighting out there.
But you know, that's part of the deal sometimes.
It's football. I guess this is a gladiator sport, so it happens. All right. What's the most you've
ever bench pressed? I don't know. You know. Yeah, you were in that room a lot. 375.
That was maybe pre the four shoulder surgeries. Yeah, so acted like he didn't know. Wait, that was maybe pre the four shoulder surgery.
So acted like he didn't know, but knew.
375.
That explains a lot what type of guy he is.
Oh, a trickster.
All right.
Have you ever been fined and for how much?
I have been fined from who?
Face mask, NFL or from coach from the NFL. Oh, face mask. Have you ever been fined and for how much? I have been fined. Ooh. From who?
Face mask?
NFL or from coach?
From the NFL.
Oh.
Face mask my rookie year, right?
In the pre-season.
I go my entire career.
Don't get fined again.
My last year I get fined twice
for, you know, illegal crack back blocks.
Cause I'm trying to hustle and block for the returner.
You didn't save it.
No, I didn't say that.
I went head hunting, forearm shiver up high.
No, James Thrasher.
I'm just kidding.
James Thrasher.
James Thrasher.
I'm just kidding.
I was not head hunting.
I'm just, that was no illegal crack back blocks.
So you're just running towards the other side.
Yeah, I'm just trying to finish my ball.
Which is completely
Understandable for a guy that played in the era where it was okay to do that That's right. It's hard for him to change his mindset in the latter part of his career
Yeah, well change your mindset once you get fined
But I'm kind of taking it that he's kind of a dirty player dude, yeah
Like he's freaking playing hard not not masking, playing hard, whistle, the whistle.
Rob,
getting fine twice, that's not that much.
Yeah, I know. I'm just messing.
What's your fastest 40 time?
Oh, I mean, we all know how this goes, right?
You're fast.
I one time ran when I was training.
I ran this. Yeah, that's the one.
I ran four to eight, that's the one. I ran 428.
428.
Woo.
And we can't argue that.
Can't argue that.
Can't argue that.
I got a second on, what was your fastest 100 meter?
What was your high school time?
High school, I ran 10.62.
10.62.
17.
Now, how fast do you think you could have got that
if you were training as a man if you put the same
thing on a man hours? I mean, I don't know your special. I don't like to talk about what I could
have done in this. But are you when I ran when I ran in high school, I did not live weights.
No, I didn't live any weights in high school. I was 17 my senior year. So I think I could have,
you know, I think I could have touched a 10.3, 10.2.
10.3, 10.2.
I mean, I ran over 23 miles an hour with pads.
With pads.
Oh my gosh.
23, so fast.
Was that your last year as well?
Oh, I wouldn't run no 23 last year.
Okay.
And then last-
21.8, 21.9.
21.8 still?
All right, what was last?
I was like 15.6.
It was bad.
It was bad. You got up and gone. No, no, he had it. He was like 15, six. It was bad. Right.
You got up and he had it.
He got up and he had it.
Wait. Last speed question.
Could you beat Randy Moss in a 200?
Now we have this debate. Oh, I know.
We have this debate. We argue this.
I mean, look, in my prime in Randy's prime,
I could I could have been 10 meters behind him in my prime.
Chad O'Shea, Chad O'Shea took slay up against Randy Moss's speed. I could have, I could have been 10 meters behind him in my prime.
Randy Moss's speed, man. That's an all time speed. All right. So he says, what was his 40? No, I'm like a four one. No, you're in for two. I don't know if he ran, but he was,
we used to mess with Randy. He floats. He does float. It's crazy. Because Randy was what like 32, 33. We were spry and Chad O'Shea used to mess with Randy all the
time. Slay can beat you. Slay can beat you. Randy didn't like that. He hated it. He didn't like that.
But that was fun. He'd be like, oh, chatty, yo. Hell nah, chatty, yo.
of evening. Hell nah, Chattio.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
All right.
When was the last time you cried?
Oh.
Besides when you heard you were coming out
of this episode.
Last time I cried.
Last time you cried.
Tears of joy.
But you know what?
I was at a funeral for Don Hasselbeck.
Don Hassel.
A couple of weeks ago.
Funeral.
Great man.
Great mentor for my wife and I.
And yeah.
Great football family.
Yeah, they really are.
They're great people.
They're great people.
They're great people.
Whenever I see Hasselback, they're just always a great.
Always.
They're a tremendous family.
Really good on TV too.
Yeah, they are.
Very knowledgeable.
Sharp guys.
Sharp men.
What's a first date with you look like?
First date first date. I like to go somewhere
Quiet where we can actually where we can talk locks and talk. Okay. Yeah, you know you go to a movie
You're not really talking
You know dinner is a toss-up, you know
Maybe you just go hang out at the park or my wife and I our first date was a cheesecake factory oh beautiful with Gary Guy Gary's third will it he was third will in
it but you know give us an opportunity to talk I mean you got to talk on a day
you got to get to know one another now really important question to follow up
on that what cheesecake did you guys order Oreo cheesecake come on so good
the best Oreo quick story about Gary Guy.
And he was I when I was a rookie, he was a linebacker here for the Patriots.
And he made me feel like I couldn't play, you know, at this level in the NFL
because he jammed me on my very first route.
And I didn't get off the line of scrimmage for about five seconds.
And then he finally backed up and the ball was already thrown.
I was one yard off the line of scrimmage when Tom threw that ball.
So, Gary, you made me feel
really uncomfortable out there. I think it worked out all right. It did. It did. You need that though. You do need that. You need that.
It woke me up like, okay, I got to really focus off this line of scrimmage. That's right. In the light of where we're at,
some would call that an NFL baptism. Some would.
We gotta wrap this up.
Okay.
A little longer than we anticipated.
What you didn't do with your four kids.
What's that?
He said, we gotta wrap it up.
I said, what you didn't do with your four kids.
It's getting a little out of control.
It's fruitful multiply.
Get them.
Yes, there we go.
That's what I will say.
Yes.
Okay.
That's what you shall do.
That's it. And that's why I'm asking you questions about it. I shall do my job.
That's it. What's the last book we read? Last book, The Psychology of Money. It
talks about, you know, how our perspectives sometimes shift once we
start making money and how greed really plays a huge
factor in a lot of people experiencing financial ruin and I think you know that
is very true especially in America so mm-hmm I gotta read that oh yeah but
what is called the psychology of wow that's? Okay, just making sure. Wow, Slate.
Two more.
Two more.
I told you.
I told you Slate's gonna be a great cast, man.
He's gonna keep us, you know, straight edge.
Definitely.
That's what he's doing.
We're learning from him.
That's what we need to do.
We're learning a lot from him.
And we already knew a lot about him.
We knew everything about him,
but now we're learning more.
Yeah.
You got one more question, and I'll go one more question. All right. All right. This is a good one
Okay, go one because we really haven't talked about this category with you. Yeah. How did you prepare your steak? Yeah
Oh, were you like an absolute dog animal? I'll sell just a wild one. I'm going rare now here
Here's a here's an inside track for you guys if If you ask 10 black folks how they prepare their estate,
seven of them are going to say, well done.
Okay.
Are you in the group?
And I came up a well done guy,
and then I started hanging out with my brothers from the other,
and I realized that medium, maybe medium rare is the way to go.
I'm a medium guy. Medium guy.
Like a medium guy man.
Converted me.
And then lastly, how do you eat that steak?
Depends on who's around.
By yourself.
I had to go hands.
No hands.
Fork knife. Fork knife. No, no, you're by yourself. I like that. I mean, when you get down to the bone, you gotta go hands. Oh, no hands. And going to do my fork.
No, no, you're by yourself.
I like that.
When you get down to the ball, you gotta go hand.
You pick it up with your hand.
The ball hand when you're with the rest.
Right.
And my sons on that bomb.
Me and my sons were going bone.
Okay.
You got to teach me around.
I'm using.
I got to use the fork.
You're teaching the boys that you got to get all the meat.
You got to get the form. You're teaching the boys that you got to get all the meat.
You got to get no meat left behind.
That meat close to the bone is some of the best meat on that, on that state.
Well, I think we got all our stuff. Let's one sec.
We're going to let's, let's go review this.
Ernie, shall we go to the, we're going to the, we're going to the booth.
Ernie said we shall.
We got to look, look this over.
Oh, you see?
Yeah. He thinks he's a dude's dude. He was 3.1. We're going to the booth. And he said we got to look at this over. You see? Yeah, he
thinks he's a dude.
He was three point one.
I thought he was going to be.
Me too. So he's really not a whiz for to the fast.
Oh, that's freaky.
That's freaky.
Academic read about money.
Oh, I could die.
And he likes his steak medium.
And he also eats it with the hands
when no one's around, but preferably uses fork and knife around women.
OK, all right. You know that I got you.
Yes, yes, definitely.
Mm hmm. On three, what do we think he is?
123 ways. Yeah, we is we think you're with us as as we we kept on saying
throughout this interview, we kept on learning about new stuff.
I learned that
greed is the route to people losing their money. I learned that if you're six foot five
and a dog, you could play special teams for 12 years. I learned so much about Osgood.
I mean, yes, I mean, I was a little disappointed with your GPA, but there's a lot of factors
that you were committed to Dartmouth because you were actually that smart guy He got in at Dartmouth you were doing so many other things as well like being an all-star in the video game world and being a
Brainiac there and that was helping you out on the field and you knew that was your real master of your life
It's football. So still a 3.1
You got by and you didn't even care about what was going on in the school world
You still got a 3.1
But you were a master with a 4.0 on the field and then video games that made a lot of money doing that to take
Care of your family. There it is. You know what and also I smart you have to be a wizard
To be a teamer for 16 years in this fucking league
It's really like that's what people don't understand for you to constantly innovate yourself each year to bring value to a team where they're
literally giving up a roster spot for you to just play special teams that's
unheard of. 16 years, Pro Bowler 13 years, all Pro 11 years, whatever he's that's
that's that's that's a wizard that's a wizard. That's a wizard.
It's fricking, that's like some Harry Potter shit, Slate.
I know you're religious and you don't read that stuff,
but it's like Harry Potter's magic.
I'll take it.
I appreciate you guys.
Yeah, Slate, we appreciate you coming on the show,
being our first guest here on Dudes on Dudes.
We weren't really sure how it was gonna go,
but I can tell you this,
you took it to a whole nother level with us, man. We felt really comfortable with you and not just
on top of it that you're a wiz, man. You're a dudes dude as well. You bring the team together.
You're a dudes dude. You're a dog. I appreciate it. But the main aspect of your life is that you are
a wizard, man. So that's why you are a wiz.
And can I just say something?
Yeah, go ahead.
Let me just say one thing.
I am very proud of the two guys
for how you've transitioned out of the game
and how successful this next chapter is for both of you guys.
Keep killing it.
Thanks man.
Thank you.
I mean, I'm going to shed a single tear.
Me too.
I'll shed a tear.
I feel like this is eggnog time back in 2010.
You know something? Your stud is well now. That was studly what you just said.
That's very... I appreciate it.
And that was the Chillest Dude of the Week. Thanks to our favorite beer Coors Light. Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door.
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Well, that's been our first episode of Dudes on Dudes
with a guest, Matthew Slater.
Thank you to Matthew Slater for joining us today.
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Round of applause.
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